Validation of Two Distributed, Autonomous Self-Organisation Algorithms for 802.11 Mesh Networks by Simulation

Abstract

Two algorithms in a "self-organisation of multi-radio mesh networks" project are described and validated by simulation. As they are to be deployed over large networks the two challenges have been the scalability and stability of the solution. The basic approach is that of a distributed, light-weight, cooperative multiagent system that guarantees scalability. As the solution is distributed it is unsuitable to achieve any global optimisation goal --- in any case, we argue that global optimisation of mesh network performance in any significant sense is not feasible in real situations that are subjected to unanticipated perturbations and external intervention. Our overall goal is simply to reduce maintenance costs for such networks by removing the need for humans to tune the network settings. So stability of the algorithms is our main concern.